The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that mental health services receive parity of esteem with physical health services in terms of funding.
Alistair Burt
NHS England required clinical commissioning groups in the annual planning guidance for 2015/16, to increase their spending on mental health in line with the increase in their overall funding allocation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the percentage of the buildings in Ramadi that are (a) unharmed by the violence in Iraq, (b) damaged, but still usable, and (c) damaged or destroyed to the extent that they are no longer usable; and (2) the proportion of the housing in Ramadi that is no longer habitable by modern standards.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UN and other agencies have not yet been able to undertake an assessment of damage to buildings and infrastructure in Ramadi as a result of the remaining threat from Daesh and improvised explosive devices inside the city. The most recent analysis by the UN Operational Satellite Applications Programme, published online by the UN Institute for Training and Research, indicates that between July 2014 and 19 December 2015 some 4,696 buildings have been damaged inside the city.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS and Public Health England (PHE) medical or microbiology laboratories (1) are, and (2) are not, currently ISO 15189 accredited; and what is the schedule for such accreditation of NHS and PHE laboratories.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department of Health, Public Health England (PHE) or NHS England do not hold information about which laboratories are and are not International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 accredited. A list of accredited laboratories is held on the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) website and is the definitive list of accredited laboratories to which the Department, PHE and the NHS refer. Accreditation is covered by the Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) company until recently, and is now part of the UKAS scheme.
There is no intention to transfer the Lyme disease testing service from the Rare & Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) to another laboratory. RIPL as a department will move from the Porton site as part of the PHE relocation scheduled to commence in 2018 but no decision on the exact date has been made. RIPL is scheduled to transfer to ISO 15189 in late summer 2016, when the ISO inspection team review the tests offered by the laboratory under ISO 15189. Until that time, the laboratory is operating under CPA in accordance with the transition process laid down by ISO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether relatives of British nationals who have died as a result of terrorism abroad are entitled to financial compensation from them, and if so, how much compensation they have paid since 2010.
Lord Faulks
The Government provides two compensation schemes for victims of crime, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) 2012 and the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme (VOTCS) 2012. Both schemes are administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
The Scheme is designed to compensate blameless victims of violent crime where the incident took place in Great Britain or a “relevant place” as outlined in Annex C of the scheme. Close relatives of a British citizen may also be eligible for compensation under the scheme. Under the Scheme compensation is only available to those who can demonstrate they are ordinarily resident in the UK at the time of the incident or have another defined connection to the UK.
In fatal cases, compensation may be awarded to qualifying relatives who also satisfy the Scheme’s residency criteria. The meaning of qualifying relative is outlined in paragraph 59 of the Scheme. The CICA does not keep information on the nationality of the deceased in fatal applications, so we cannot identify the amount of compensation paid.
Compensation for relatives of British nationals murdered abroad is not available under the two schemes provided by the Government. UK residents injured as a result of a crime of violence in another country within the European Union (EU) or outside the EU may be able to apply for compensation from that country. The CICA can assist with applications to other EU countries.
The VOTCS was introduced to compensate victims of terrorism injured in incidents outside the UK on or after 27 November 2012. A person may be eligible for an award under VOTCS if they sustain a qualifying injury, which is directly attributable to their being a direct victim of a designated terrorist act. Close relatives bereaved as a result of a designated act may also be eligible for an award. The VOTCS applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.
Claims under the VOTCS can be made by those who have a clear and sufficient connection to the UK, as evidenced by their residence and citizenship. British, European Union, European Economic Area and Swiss citizens who have been resident in the UK for three years immediately before the designated act may be eligible for an award. Data on the value of awards made under VOTCS from 2013 to 2016 are set in the table below.
|
Year |
Amount of awards |
|
2013 |
£206,607 |
|
2014 |
£11,200 |
|
2015 |
£309,541 |
|
2016 |
£11,000 |
|
Total |
£538,348 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place a full copy of Lord Justice Bingham’s report Inquiry into the Supervision of The Bank of Credit and Commerce International, published in October 1992, on the closure of The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (HC 198 1992/93), in the Library.
Harriett Baldwin
As requested by the Hon. Member, a copy of the document will be made available in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine on 2016-05-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their strategy to counter misinformation and censorship from Russia and China and what assessment they have made of how the relocation of the BBC Chinese Service to Hong Kong fits with that strategy, given the rise in Chinese intervention in freedoms in Hong Kong.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Russia’s use of disinformation and hybrid warfare is unacceptable. We are actively working with European and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies to protect and promote access to reliable information and bring balance and plurality to the Russian language media.
We are concerned by the harassment and detention of journalists in China. Freedom of expression is a priority for the UK and it should be the bedrock of a strong democracy. Working with the Chinese authorities and civil society to encourage greater freedom of expression in China remains a priority for us. In Hong Kong, we monitor freedom of the press closely, including in the Six Monthly Reports on Hong Kong, as this is one of the fundamental freedoms protected by the Joint Declaration and enshrined in the Basic Law
No assessment has been made regarding the operational decision to move some Chinese Language Service posts to Hong Kong. The BBC has advised that safety is always of paramount importance and BBC Chinese staff are already able to report from Hong Kong independently and without interference from authorities. The BBC believes this will continue in Hong Kong, which hosts regional headquarters and offices for more than a hundred leading international media organisations. The BBC faces challenges to press freedom all over the world every day and this move will not change its commitment to impartial journalism in any way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-06-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to arrange for a meeting between the President of Colombia and representatives from non-governmental organisations in the UK concerned with human rights in Colombia, when the President makes his State Visit to the UK in November.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The upcoming State Visit is an excellent opportunity to continue our engagement with the Government of Colombia on a varity of issues. We are working closely with Buckingham Palace and the Colombian government on the details of the President’s programme, which will be developed over the next few months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support the work of anti-racism groups in North East England and celebrate the support shown for migrants and refugees in Newcastle following the vote to leave the EU.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government welcomes local community initiatives that tackle hate crime and intolerance. In July, we published the cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan in which we committed Government to tackling all forms of hate crime including race hate crime. We are currently supporting True Vision, an on-line hate crime reporting site, as well as the Anne Frank Trust and Streetwise, who work in schools to tackle prejudice and intolerance. In addition, the Hate Crime Action Plan referred to ‘community-led solutions’ – a new initiative funded by the Home Office to explore innovative ways in which communities in the North East would be eligible to apply once the scheme is launched.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to encourage students to become ambulance service paramedics upon graduating.
Mr Philip Dunne
The latest available data from NHS Digital NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics shows that there are now over 2,200 more paramedics in the National Health Service than in May 2010.
As set out in Health Education England’s (HEE) 2016/17 Workforce Plan for England, planned paramedic training places have increased by 60%, to over 1,600. The workforce plan estimates that by 2020 there is likely to be an 11% growth in the available paramedic workforce.
HEE is partnering with the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) to give aspiring paramedics the chance to gain the experience, skills and knowledge required to support applications for the Paramedic Science degree programme (BSc) at UEA and ARU for entry in September 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the objectives of the National Wildlife Crime Unit are beyond March 2016.
Rory Stewart
The day to day work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit is determined by the UK Wildlife Crime Tasking and Coordinating Group (led by senior government and enforcement officials). Work focuses on the UK wildlife crime priorities.
The Government has committed to providing funding to help secure the National Wildlife Crime Unit until at least the end of March next year. Decisions on funding beyond March will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.